Okay, that may have been Jake Blues, now that I think about it...
So, the next car series. I've done my favorites. I've done the year-matched variants. I've been trying to think of what interesting spin I could put on the weekly car pic. Obviously, it's gotta be something unique, right?
And then it came to me. Lottery cars. If I hit the $300 million Powerball, one of the things I'd do would be to build a massive house on several hundred acres. Attached to that house would be a multi-story parking garage. I'd have several dozen cars, easy, and a mechanic on retainer to care for them all. With that said, what would make up this garage?
1959 Cadillac El Dorado Biarritz convertible. It would cost me dearly, but I would have one restored from the ground up, as close to original as possible. I'd also have a second one built using a modern donor frame, engine, transmission, etc. I'd wager with the Dodge supercharged 6.2L Hemi V8 under the hood, fiberglass body panels, etc. it would move pretty well. Or go old-school and drop a GM 454 big block in it. Hard to say what color I'd want - the salmon color is more rare, but damn that red looks good.
It'd be a great car to drive in parades and such. And the fins. Oh, the fins. The late, great Harley Earl - the man we can thank for the Corvette - designed this beauty, and it shows. It's a reminder of a different time in America, when you could be the first on your block to have a car the size of your block...
There's something about a Cadillac, there really is. I briefly owned a 1983 Coupe DeVille, at a time when people seemed incapable of driving around me without crashing into me. After two bad wrecks (one totaled my Toyota van, the other came close to totaling my Plymouth Sundance) in 8 months, I went out and bought the biggest, heaviest chunk of Detroit iron I could find.
One summer, going up to a friend's cabin in Maine, we brought up a full complement of camping gear - tent, air mattress, sleeping bags, camp chairs, etc. on top of clothes, food, and other necessities for the long weekend. There was plenty of room in the trunk - despite four snow tires already being there. Oh, and believe it or not, the car got low 20s for gas mileage, and with a 25-gallon tank had a range well in excess of 500 miles.
Sadly, it was 14 years old at the time and took more time and effort to keep running than it was worth...
That is all.
9 comments:
Go with the old school 454 V-8. They don't make engines like that any more. Let's see what I can remember. 440, 427, 409, 454, 442, and 460.
Go with the 426 hemi instead.
Putting a Dodge motor in one would be heresy... Just sayin... :-)
They put Chevy small blocks into everything, including lawn mowers, these days. A little Mopar in the GM will only require a short time in purgatory. Straight ticket to heaven if it's a Hell Cat.
'59 Caddy Eldo Barritz drop top in red firemist. Parade boot and red leather. Hands down the most beautimous piece of rolling stock ever built by man. Although I might be tempted, I wouldn't change a thing.
And sitting beside Him at His right hand, Armed Texan, if it's an original 426 hemi.
The Cussler Museum in Arvada, CO has TWO!
Check your inbox for photos.
That is a beautiful car. I've been an admirer since I was a kid.
DURAMAX, slightly massaged for about 750hp, and LOTS of torque. Light the tires any time you want.
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